I am sad to report the music writer, Cliff White, has died. An amusing man who had me in fits of laughter with his encounters and friendship with the musicians James Brown, and Hank Ballard, and a few others. He also had an amusing tale about sitting in for Charlie Gillett on a Honky Tonk show. A really nice man. So sad.

I didn't know or meet him, but have read so much of his past work - be it liner notes, biog articles or reviews. His writing was always informed, straightforward and entertaining. I felt sad about his later days as a writer/journalist - how everything seemed to have dried up for him, and he likely had to scrape by.

The old guard are vanishing. What's available of their work may well be protected by expensive pay walls (yes, Rock's Back Pages, I'm talking about you). Do we have writers like Cliff White around still?

Thanks Nikki, a real loss to our culture. He was an excellent writer, and never seemed to compromise his love of the music.I remember CG broadcasting an exclusive interview he did with James Brown in the back of a car as JB headed towards Heathrow.Aly